Power-generating system.



A. M. STANLEY.

POWER GENERATING SYSTEM. I

APPLIOMIO! man mm 10. ms.

1,060,034. Patented Apr. 29, 1913.

3 WWW I I no u h i |l||" I IWI IN! I l t v v Wmnaaaea: Inventor,

. v rthur- Msbanle y IOLUIMA HAM-Am IO WAIHYW, OK I,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABTHUB M. STANLEY, OF ,LYNNQMASSAGHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF'NE'W YORK.

TOWER-GENERATING SYSTEM.

Patented Apr. 29, 1913.

To all 'whomit may concern Be it known that I, Anrmm M. STANLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex,State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Power-Generating Systems, of which the following is a specification.

The resent invention relates to powergenerating systems, wherein a coil boiler is )rovided which is heated by a hydro-carbon urner.

Theoretically in such a system, the amounts of fuel and water, supplied to the burner and boiler respectively, should correspondingly increase when the demand for steam increases and by an amount determined by said increase, and decrease correspondingly when the load decreases and by, an amount determined by said decrease. In

ractice I have found that such a system is defective in certain particulars, especially in starting initially, or in driving a suddenly applied heavy load. As applied to an automobile, for example, the engine and con-- sequently the boiler and burner are suddenly calledupon to erform more work when the road uickly c anges from hard macadam to sun or a steep grade is encountered. Un-

der these conditions there is danger of what is termed a cold boiler, meaning thereby that there is not heat enough produced by the burner to vaporize the cold water introduced into the boiler coil.

My invention has for its object to improve 'the type of power system referred to, whereby the initial startm is facilitated, and the ratio between the e ective supplies of fuel to the burner and water to the oiler is capable of being adjusted to meet. wide variations in load changes.

The accompanyin tratcs one of the em drawing, which illusdiments of my inventmn, 1s a diagrammatic view of a power generating system.

1 indicates a coil boiler of any suitable construction, and 2 a casing therefor. This casin is provided with an opening 8 through whic flue gases. pass to the downwardly opening flues 4 when the apparatus is oper-- atin under'normal conditions and to a natu-; ral raftflue 5 when the system is generating a small amount of power, in the case of a vehicle when the latter is standing still.

actuated valve 16 in the discharge of the tank. This pipe is connects to the Situated below the coil boiler is a hydrocarbon'burner of any suitable construction,

comprisingin the present instance a semicircular vaporizer 6, a nozzle 7 for discharging the vapor and a baffle plate 8 which spreads the vapor and causes it to mix with t e necessary amount of air previous to combustion. Situated on opposite sides of the burner are deflector plates 9 which deflectthe incoming current of air to a point below the level ofthe bafiie late 8.

For convenience in cscribing the system, the parts relating to the fuel system will be described first, and later those relating to the water supply system.

10' indicates a fuel tank working under atmospheric pressure, and actin to supply fuel by gravity. This tank ordinarily occupies a convenient position above the level of the "other fuel receiving arts.

11 indicates a fuel tank t at is in practice considerably smaller than the tank 10 and the fuel therein is subjected to a suitable air ressure by means of the hand pump 12.

nder ordinary conditions the air pressure in this tank is about'25 lbs. Bearing in mind that the pressure tank is below the avity tank, w en it becomes necessary to ll the ressure tank the ressure thereon is relieve and the hand va ve 18 in the connection 14 between the two tanks is opened when fuel will flow from tank 10 to tank 11.

After the necessary amount of fuel has the hand passed into the pressure tank placed under valve 18 is closed and tank 11 suita'ble air pressure, which can be determinedby the pressure gxage 15 located at any convenient point. T e fuel is normally confined within the tank 11 by a manuall ipe 1 vaporizer of the burner so that when the fuel pump 18 not operating, or is producing only a low ressure, fuel under pressure therefromwzll keep the system in operation. The

tank 11 ma also be used in startin The gravity tank 10 is connects to the discharge pi e 17 of the pressure tank b a pipe 18 whic 1 contains a check valve 19 that opens toward the burner and closes to prevent fuel assing from the pressure tank to the gravity tank. The pi e 18 is used in service for maintaining a pi ot flame. Fuel passes from the gravity tank 10 to the sucllif.

tionside of the fuel'pump 20 by. the pi e 21. This pump is driven by the steam eng us 22 through a suitable ower transmitting means which will be escribed later. The

a discharge side of the pump is connected to oil valve 45 be by-passed from, the discharge side of the.

60 number of perforations or notches at 'the' the burner by the )i )e 23, which pi e contains a "age 24 suita ly located wit iin the range OfVl-SlOll of the operator. Located between the pip? 23 and the burner is a shuty means ofwhich the supply of fuel to the burner from the gravity tank, pressure tank and pum may be cut oil. Connected to the pump ischarge at a point between the pump and the burner, as for example, to tie. p1pe 23, is a by-pass 2G for by-passin excess fuelback to the gravity tank 10. ln this by-pass is a valve 27 com-' prising a screw threaded stem 28 havin an arm on its upper end by means of w iiclr it can be rotated. Under normal operating conditions, this valve is closed so that no. fuel is b -passcd to the tank. In order to. control t to byass, a thermostatic regulator is'providcd, w iich may be made in a variety of ways, but which I refer to make in the following manner. ounted upon: the pipe 85 discharging steam to the engine, are two clamps 3G and 87. To the u perclamp is ivotally attached a bell-cran le-l ,ver 38. ts lower arm is pivotally connect-.

ed'by a rod 39 to the lower clam 37. The. upperend is. connected by a ro 40 to the: arm on the by-passvalve. As the temper-: atom of the steam increases the section of; steam pipe between the c am expands which results in separating the c amps-by a; certain distance, and since the rod 89 is not' so affected, the upper end of the bell crank. lever is swungto the left and withit the 40 stem 28 of, the bypass valve. This oper-v ation results in openin the'valve by a greater or less amount, spending upon that increase in temperature of the steam, and hence a greater or less amount of-fuel will pum to the gravity tank. Assuming that the y-pass valve is open and the temper-- atom of the steam falls below a certain point, that and in so doin cause the bell crank lever to move and c ose the by-pass valve, when all ofthe fuel from the pump will pass into the burner.

The water system will now be described.

41 indicates a water tank from which water is supplied by gravitg to the suction side of the water pump. ithin the tank is located a verticalftube' 42'which has a bottom to permit water tov flow therefrom into the main ortion, of'the tank. This tube is provide with a detachable cover 48 by means of which the interior of the tube can be inspected or cleaned. Located at the ortion of the steam pipe be- 60 tween the camps 80 and 37 will contract;

{bottom of'the tank and surrounding the tube is an oil'tra 44, which in the practical embodiment of my invention I make in the form of a 'cylinder about four inches in height. This I have found to give satisfactory results. Located within the tube 42 is a pipe 45, which does not extend quite up to the top of the tank and extends through the tank and is open at both ends. This pipe ,forms an over-flow and determines the level of the water in the tank. There is also located within the tube 12 a pipe 46 for returning the water of condensation from the condenser to the tank. Since a reciprocating engine is employed as the motor agent and lubricant is necessary for lubricating the piston, a certain amount of oil will be carried over into the condenser and discharged into the tube 42, where it will float upon the water, and owing to the fact that an oil trap is provided it will be prevented from assing with the water into the pump. Vhenever the tank is filled, which is done by removin the cover 47 and introducing a hose pipe, the water as it fills the tank also fills tie tube 42 and causes the oil on top of the water therein to rise until finally it flows through the over-flow pipe and esca es. Each time the tank is filled, I intentlonally allowa certain amount of water to flow through the over-flow pipe 45 and in this manner I make sure that all the oil is carried off. The water from the tank passes through the strainer 48 and the pipe 40 to the suction side, of the pump. Owing to the trap the oil in the tube is prevented from passing to the pump. The dischar e from the water pum 50 is conveyed by tie 'pipe 51 to a coil which surrounds the boiler proper and connects therewith. After the water is vaporized and steam at the desired pressure and degree of superheat is formed, it passes through the portion ofthe pi e forming the thermostatic regulator and tlie pipe 35 to the steam engine 22, wherein it performs useful work, and after exhausting passes to the surface condenser 53. This condenser comprises upper and lower headers 54, which are connected by a plurality of vertical tubes. The water of condensation is pumped by the reciprocating pum) 55 through the pipe 46 into the tube 4-2 within the water tank. The pump 55 is driven by the engine 22, as is also the fan 56. This fan may be driven by a suitable belt or gearing 57 from the main shaft of the engine. The shape of the blades and the direction of rotation is such that the fan causes air to pass through the condenser in the direction of the arrow. The action of the fan is augmented when the power system is mounted on a vehicle by the movement of the vecondenser is warmed to a certain degree and I prefer to so arrange the fan 56 that it dis- 1 hicle itself. The air in pas-sin through the charges the air passing through thecondenser, mto the apertures admitting airto the burner. M

In a system'of-this'characterit is necessary to provide means for forcingwater into the boiler before sufficient steam is formed to drive the engine and pumps. Also to provide a .means for temporarily assistingthe water ump in case the demand for power exceeds .t e capacity of the pump when running at a definite speed; To provide for this, an accumulator 58 is used that contains acertain amount of water and air under pressure. .For normal operatin conditions, I have found an' air pressure 0 200 lbs. per square inch to be satisfactory. Inserted between the accumulator and the discharge pipe 51 of the pump is a regulator 59, comprising -in ,the lpresent case two ball check valves-60 whic open to permit of water being forcedby the pump into the ac:

eumulator, but prevent Water om passing from-theaccumulator into the pipe 51' an thence to the boiler. The connection between the regulator and the ipe 51 ismade on the boiler side of the c eck valve 61,

which'opens toward the boiler and prevents water from being forced by the accumulator into and through the pump when the accumulator is in operation and, its superior to that 'of the amp. 7 make used the accumu ator, a', yalve;62 is provided that is actuated by a foot-pedal 63, the latter being situated within easy reach of the operator and when used on a vehicle, preferably beside thesteering post. Assuming-for exam is, that the water pressure in t e system we dro ped down to an abnormall low oint and e engine is running slow y crease the amount of power supplied by. the system, the foot-peda is depressed, which opens the valve and permitsmore or less water fromthe accumulator to pass into the boiler. The amount of water that is permitted to pass in this manner will be de-' termined by they age 64. While'the accumulator is charge with air at 200-lbs. pressure per square inch, its actual working pressure is considerably higher than this, owing to the fact that the water on the discharge side of the pump has free access thereto and hence the pressure will be determined by that of the water system. 4 v

It sometimes happens as for example, when the ap aratus 1S ap lied to a vehicle and the s cc of the vehic e is high and the demand or steam is com aratiuely small, as for example, in .going own rade, that an excess of water is provided. 0 prevent this from passin into the boiler a regulator 65, is provid that is under the. control of the steam pressure. This regulator comprises a die ragm 66, which is exposed on one side to oiler pressure by means of pipe the pipe 71 is a and which the by-pass can also ressure is, n order to.

' lever 78, adapted to and it is desired to suddenly in 67, and on the other side to a splringgiressed abutment 68. Situated below t e an of the abutment rod and mounted on knife edges, is a lever 69. The opposite end of the lever isadapted to engage and raise the stem of the by-pass valve 70. This valve controls the passage of water from the pipe 51 to the water tank b means of the 1pc 71. In valve 72, y means of be cut out of service. The steam pipe 67 is rovided with a hand valve 73 for cutting tie diaphragm out of service in case of accident. The tension on thespring opposing the diaphragm is set to operate at any suitable ressure. I have found 500 lbs. to be satis aetory in actual ractiee. Owing to the fact that the pivot or the lever 69 is located nearer the axis ofthe abutment 68 than it is to the axis' .of the valve stem 70 it follows that a very small motion of the diaphragm will result in a considerable movement of the by-pass valve .70. This arrangement obviates or largely decreases the uncertainty of opera- .tion of the by-pass valve.

Ihave shown the plungers of the fuel and water pumps actuated by the cross-head 74,

which cross-head is connected by a lever with the cross-head 7 6 of the steam engine. The travel of the pump plungers is controlled by the slidingJ block 77 carried by a e locked in a series of difierent positions de ending 11 on the length of stroke it is esired to iiave the engine impart to the pump. This arran ement may be considered as typical 0 a manually actuated means for ad ustin the length of stroke of the pumps, and fiance their elfective deliveries.

, I prefer to employ a clutch between the engine shaft and the load, whatever be its character, so that the engine, pumps, etc., can be operated independently of the load. This is important in many particulars for it enables me to start the power pumps as soon-as a small amount of steam is generated and before there is steam enough to drive the vehicle or other load for which the engine is utilized.

In practice I may operate over a wide range of burner and boiler pressure. For example, the burner pressure may be as low as ten or fifteen pounds, or as high as one hundred and fifty pounds. The boiler pressure may also be varied between wide limits. The advantages of combining variable stroke pumps with automatic by-pass regulators is very marked. Assume for example, that. the tem erature of the boiler is lower than it shou d be while the amount of steam amounts of fuel and water, and since i lo,

supply of water is a function of lhe steam pressure the excess will be by-pusscd and l and the excess fuel will be by-passcd by the thermostaticvalve.

It will thus be seen-that I have all of the advantages of a' proportional feed of 7 fuel and water, the pumpplungers having a definite anduproportional ratio to each other, yetat the same'time, I can change the etiecttve dehveries of the fuel and water .by increasing the supplies of both and automatically by-passing the fuel wh'enit-is not needed, or the waterowhenflit' is" not needed. The regulators are so arranged that eveniin the hands ofan unskilled-person the temperature can never exceed a certain amount, nor can the pressure rise. above a" ccrtain'predetermined value. 'f' i' In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, 1- have-described the -prin-- ciple of'operation of-my invention, together with the apparatus which-I" now consider to' represent the best embodiment" thereof vbut I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shownis-only illustrative andfthat the invention can be carried out by other means, i What Iv claim as new and' -ds'ireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-' 1. In a power generating system, the-combination of a boiler, a burner, pum s for? supplyingwater'to theboiler and uel to the burner, gravity and. pressure fuel-com taining' tanks both of which" are connected, to the burner, means for"changing th'e'ef-- fcctivc strokes of 'thc'pumps, a bypass few the fuel amp discharging'into the gravity tank, a t iermostat sensitive to" the changes in the steam temperature for controllmgg said bypass and thereby regulating the supply of fuel" to the burner, and a' rcgulator' sensitive to changes'in pressure of the steam generated by the boiler for'controlling the supply-of water to said boiler."

in a power generating system, the combination of a boiler, a burner, pum s for; supplying water to the boiler and uel to the burner, gravity and pressure fuel-con taining tanks both'of which are connected to the burner, a manually actuated means for simultaneously changing thelen'gths of stroke ofthe pumps, a thermostatic'regu-l lator responsive to. changes in' steam-temperature for bypassing excess ue1'-back tothe gravity tank, and a regulator sensitive to changes in pressure of the steam gen- 'eratcd for bypassing the excess water from the pump.

3. In apower generating system, the comfjliiination of a; boiler, a burner, pumps for "supplying water to the b'oilcr and fuel to the burner, gravity and pressure fuel-containing tanksboth of which are connected to the burner, the said ravity tank also being connected to the fue pump, means for isimultaneously varying the lengths of the =pump strokes, regulators responsive to diffcrent conditions of the steam generated 'for bypassing the excess water and fuel delivcrcd by the pumps, a conduit conveying the excess fuel back to said gravity tank, an *accumulator connectcd'to the boiler on the -pu1npside,-which contains a gas and water under pressure, a check valve which 0 ens toward the accumulator, and a manua 1y actuated valve for controlling the discharge of water from the accumulator to the boiler;

4. In a power generating system, the combinationof' a boiler, a burner, pumps for supplying'water to the boiler and fuel to the burner, means for varying the lengths of the; pump'strokes, a fuel-tank under pressure and connected'to the burner, a valve forclosing-the tank against the pressure of the fulpump, a regulator for bypassing excess fuel fromthe burner, a regulator comprising diaphragm sensitive to the steam pressure in the' boiler, a valvecontrolled by the' diaphragm for bypassin" waterfront the boiler, an accumulator which contains water under pressure and is subjected-toboiler1 ressure, and a valve for controlling the discharge of water from the accumulator into the boiler.

' r 5. In a power generating system, the com- 'bination' ofa-boiler, a burner, a water tank,

7' a gravity fueltank, a connection between the tank and the'burner for feedin V the latter by gravity to maintain a pilot ame, a fuel tan: normally under pressure for feeding th'e'burncr under certain conditions, a'connect-ion' fordischarging fuel from the gravity to the p'ressuretank when the pressure on the latter is relieved, a fuel pump, a connection'between the gravity tank and the "pump and between the pump and the burner, a" water pump, a meansfor driving the l umps, a device interposed between the rivmg means and the pumps for varying 'their strokes, a thermostatic device acted upon by the changes in temperature of the steam produced by the boiler, a valve controlled by the thermostat for by-passing fuel back to the'tank, a regulator sensitive to steam pressure, and a valve for'by-passingwatcr back to the tank.

6. In a power generating system, the combination of'a' boiler, a burner, a source of water supply for the boiler, a source of fuel supply for the burner, water and fuel pumps whose plun ers bear a fixed relation to each other at al times and have corre sponding lengths of stroke, a bypass regulator for the water supplyl which opens when the steam pressure on t e boiler exceeds a certain amount a bypass regulator for the fuel sup ly which opens when the temperature of tie steam exceeds a certain amount,

the two regulators being capable of independent action, a means for driving the pumps, a manually actuated means for simultaneously increasing or decreasing the effective strokes of the pumps to meet the demand for fuel and water, a avity tank and a pressure tank both of which contain fuel and are connected to the burner, and an automatic valve in the connection between the gravity tank and the burner.

7. In a ower enerating system, the combination o a boi er, a burner for heating the boiler, a source of water supply for the passing fuel from the fuel pump back to the source, an accumulator connected to the 'water supply system, a manually controlled device for admitting water from the accumulator to the supply system, and means for sup lying fuel to the burner independently of t e fuel pum under certain conditions.

In witness w ereof, I have hereunto set my hand this ei hth day of Jul 1908.

THUR M. S ANLEY.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. MOMANUS, Jr., HENRY O. WESTENDARP.

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' Washington, D. 0. 

